Sinclair - ZX / Spectrum / QL Series Emulators

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Popular Emulators

Name Description
Fuse A port of FUSE to Windows by Sergio Baldoví.


Other Emulators

Name Description
Ameba This is a new Spectrum 128K emulator for DOS written by Antonio Villena who also did Bacteria. The emulator itself is absolutely tiny, weighing in at about 3KB and is based around the core of Bacteria.
ASCD This is a Sam Coupé, ZX Spectrum and ZX Spectrum 128. It is based on original SimCoupe by Allan J.Skillman, with added lots of new features and ZX Spectrum emulation. Features: Full internal GZip support, MAME sound core, .dsk/.sad/.z80/.sna/.fux/.tap support.
ASp ASp is a Sinclair ZX Spectrum Emulator for the Amiga. It is coded in fast 680x0 Asm and is designed to be authentic and easy to use.
ASpectrum ASpectrum is a Spectrum emulator for Windows. Not too much is known since its native language is Spanish.
Bacteria This is an Spectrum emulator for DOS, that seems to be the smallest working Spectrum emulator that exist. There are no included documents available and the official page is in Spanish, but there is an English page as well.The second download here is a noncompressed version that makes the execution faster.
DamSpecEm DamSpecEm is a Spectrum emulator. It currently emulates the 48k, 128k and +2 models, has initial support for +2A and +3 models, has full sound emulation, tape browsing and customizable multi-language support.
DelphiSpec DelphiSpec is an Sinclair Spectrum emulator for Windows, ported from excellent Visual Basic emulator vbSpec to Borland Delphi.
E++ This is one of the few emulators that emulate more than one system. The only other emulators that emulates mutliple systems are MESS and DarcNES. This emulator
emulates the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, the Space Invaders arcade board, the Phoenix and Pleiads arcade boards and the Centipede arcade board with sound and trackball support. Uses VESA 2 to accelerate graphics if available.
EmuZWin Another Spectrum ZX emulator by Vladimir Kladov that features multicolor support, PC Speaker/AY sound emulation, full screen, border effects, joystick, Z80, SNA, TAP, TZK, BLK and ZIP support. Frequently updated.
GLECK GLECK is a Spectrum emulator, written partly in C, partly in C++ and partly in Assembler. It emulates more or less faithfully various Spectrum models, including some Russian clones.
Klive Klive is a newer Spectrum emulator. It was made by SteveSnake when he found that no other Spectrum emulator could meet his needs. It's already very complete, runs 99% of tested ROMs and is fairly fast too! Be sure to try this emulator.
Multi-Machine Rightfully named Multi-Machine, this emulator, in addition to emulating the Spectrum (16/48/48+/128/+2/+2A/+3 flavors), this emulator also supports emulation for Sinclair's Z80 and Z81, the Timex Sinclair 1000 and 2068, the Amstrad CPC series, the Jupiter Ace, and the Enterprise. Work is in progress to emulate the Amstrad PCW series, the MSX series, and the TRS-80 series. Currently, Multi-Machine supports all the major Spectrum CPU state (aka
'snapshot') filetypes, such as .Z80 (48K and 128K), .SNA, and .SLT, as well as native filetypes from virtually all the older Spectrum emulators, as well as the .TAP and .TSX formats for tape files and tape data recordings encoded as .VOC sound files, and under the +3, support for .DSK disk image files . Peripheral support for Kempston and Sinclair joysticks via the PC joystick or keyboard is included. Not much is known about how this emulator works with Multiface 128,
but if you want to test, the Multiface ROM is available for download (at left). Multi-Machine requires DirectX 5, and should run at full speed on any Pentium system. This emulator, along with X128, are our Spectrum emulators of choice; if you're a Speccy fanatic, and you have Win95, look into this emu seriously.
no$zx nocash sinclair ZX emulator/debugger for dos/windows

The program has originally started as a two-weeks hack for emulating the ZX81, but now grew to a decent six-months project. Aside from improved ZX80/ZX81 emulation, it's now also supporting the Lambda and Jupiter ACE, alongsides with the complete ZX Spectrum series.
NO$ZX81 This appears to be a duplicate outdated listing for no$zx, and as such is subject to being overwritten or deleted.
Q-emuLator This emulator emulates all the basic hardware of the Sinclair QL (keyboard, display, mouse support, sound, etc). It also emulates up to 16MB of QL RAM acceleration of some QDOS graphics commands, etc. This emulator is shareware, though, and registering it costs a minimum of $40 (to register v1.1) and a maximum of $60 (unlimited registration).
QLAY This is a freeware Sinclair QL emulator that emulates all the original I/O of the original QL, and it can access files directly on from your HD. There are no plans on emulating stuff like the disk drives, hard drives, video cards, etc, but it's still a good emulator, try it.

These ROMs are needed to run the emulator.

This is a patched version of the JS ROM to allow 4 Megabytes of emulated RAM.
R80 One of the newcomers on the Spectrum emulation scene, R80 is also one of the few emulators being currently updated. It supports the Spectrum 48, 128, +3, and Pentagon, and has file support for .Z80 and .SNA (snapshot files) and .TAP and .TZX (tape files), as well as .SCR and .PCX (screenshot files) and support for Multiface 128. As with the Multi-Machine and most other Spectrum emus, joystick support is emulated via either PC joystick or keyboard.
One of the peculiarities of the R80 emulator is, being that the emulator was written by a Spaniard, you will probably need to run the keyboard utility provided at the left to get your keyboard working optimally under R80. From the author's own documentation, R80 should run at full speed on a 486 DX4-100 or better, and will run fine under Win95.
RealSpectrum RealSpectrum is intended as a high-fidelity Spectrum emulator with no compromises. It reproduces the Spectrum hardware with a previousely unseen accuracy and it has been designed to support the most advanced features for the most realistic audiovisual experience. You will be using the closest thing to a real Spectrum machine :-)
Sinclairean
Spec/XSpec This is just your regular ZX Spectrum 48k emulator that is available for both Windows and DOS. The Windows version has somewhat higher system requirements, but it has a GUI and some other stuff that you might find useful.
Spec256 This is the first Spectrum emulator to be in 256 colors. The latest version now supports 256 colors for Abu Simbel Profanation and Simbel's Key. I recommend this emulator if you want enhanced graphics.
Speccy Speccy emulates 16kB, 48kB, and 128kB versions of Sinclair ZX Spectrum, as well as Spectrum +2, +2A, and +3, as well as Timex Sinclair models. At the moment, Speccy supports all types of ZX Spectrum joysticks and the Kempston mouse. The AMX mouse support is not yet complete. Both ZX printer and the Timex (aka Alphacom 32) printer are supported and will print to a file using ASCII "graphics". AY8910 PSG chip is obviously supported, in both 128k and Fuller modes. Only BetaDisk/TR-DOS disk interface is currently supported, although other disk, wafer, or microdrive devices appear on the menu. These are being worked on.

Last update: 2010-05-05
Speccyal This Spectrum emulator already has a bunch of new features and it looks very promising.
SpecEmu SpecEmu is a Spectrum emulator designed to run under Windows 95/98/ME and requires DirectX installed. It has been written in 100% assembler to give it the power to accurately emulate all of the native ZX Spectrum hardware.
Spectaculator Spectaculator is a great Spectrum emulator that emulates the 16K/48K/128/+2/+2A/+3 Spectrums and some additional hardware. It is shareware, however. This download is a demo only and costs $27.99 USD.
Spectrum This is an updated version of one of the oldest Spectrum emulators around, authored by Pedro Gimeno. It only supports the Spectrum 48, and is command-line driven, and uses the .SP format, so you'll need the SPConv utility (at left) to change the format of the snapshots you have to the .SP format if you want to use them with this emu. Still, it's worth a shot to look at, as this was one of the pioneers of Spectrum emulation.
Spud Spud is a ZX Spectrum 48k/128k Emulator written in C++ using Microsoft Visual Studio 6. This version is very beta and there is a huge amount of improvements to be made.
sz81 sz81 is a Sinclair ZX80/ZX81 emulator very much based upon the work of Ian Collier's xz80 and Russell Marks's z81 but employing the highly portable SDL and including additional functionality and features for desktop computers and portable devices.

UnrealSpeccy This is a ZX-Spectrum emulator for Windows 2000. This emulator is called 'Unreal' because it includes some features that never was available on real ZX-Spectrum, such as quick save/load snapshot, pause, speed-up/speed-down and so on...
VB81 VB81 is an emulator for the ZX81 written in Visual Basic. It runs pretty well, and has pretty good emulation.

VB81 XuR is an 'unofficial' build meant as an improvement build of the original version. It supports additional hardware and is overall better than the original version.
Warajevo This is a ZX Spectrum 48/128k and Timex 2068 emulator. It's quite fast and has a really nice GUI with advanced setup for the people that like to tweak and alter their settings a lot, so no frontend is needed or anything. Also, remember to visit this emulator's homepage and download the plugins that are available, to expand the emulated RAM, etc.
WinXZX This emulates the 48/128k, and runs under Windows. It is a little slow, so you might need a PII class processor.
WSpecEm This is a Spectrum 48k emulator for Windows that features high compability, has support for the digitizing of Spectrum tapes thorugh a Soundblaster or paralell port, real Windows joystick support, ability to save screenshots, configurable keyboard, support for long filenames, and it's freeware.
X128 This is my personal favorite as Spectrum emulators go. It features support for the Spectrum 48/128/+2/+2A/+3, as well as the Russian Spectrum clones, the Pentagon 128 and Scorpion 256 (limited support for Scorpion). It features support for .Z80 (48K/128K), .SNA (48K/128K), and .SLT snapshot files, and .TAP, .TZX and .VOC tape formats, and .DSK disk files under the +3, as well as .TRD files under TR-DOS. It includes support for Multiface 128, and of course, Kempston and Spectrum joystick emulation
via the keyboard and PC joystick. The Sound Blaster SAOM version has superb sound, and runs at 100% even on high end 486 systems or better (featuring automatic reduction to 100% speed for faster processors), and the Adlib version will run 100% on low end 486 systems. The SB version is the recommended version to use, and our choice for the top Spectrum emulator.
XTender & XTender2 XTender 1 is a Sinclair ZX80/81 emulator that runs very good on XT/AT/286/386 systems and runs mostly all of the ZX81 programs available.

XTender 2 is a complete rewrite of XTender that emulates the Aszmic and PC-8300 as well as the ZX80/81. It can run any hi-res, semi-hi-res, mixed resolution and low resolution ZX81 program, it can run ZX81 programs directly from the DOS command line or by double clicking .p files in Windows 95/NT. It also features a TV-Mode with all the flickering and other fun stuff you could expect from a real TV, and it supports multiple keypresses at once, and even more. A Pentium 133 is recommended for this one to run good, but that shouldn't be a problem for most people.
YaSE
YaSE2
This is an emulator for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48k, 128k and Pentagon 128 machines for DOS.
This is a Spectrum emulator for Windows by the same author who made YaSE for DOS.
Z.com This is a Russian Spectrum 48/128K ZX emulator by Vladimir Kladov. This boasts being the smallest (filesize) playable emulator of its kind. This is very much true, as the file is only 101K and includes the source and other files. Give it a shot.
Z80 Probably the most popular Spectrum emulator of all 2 years ago, Z80, authored by Gerton Lunter, was the king of the Spectrum emulators, with support for the Spectrum 48 and 128, as well as microdrive support and Disciple/Plus D interfaces. Z80 will run at 100% on high end 386 / low end 486 systems, which is incredibly fast for the support the emulator gives. The only drawback to Z80 is that the shareware version has a 10 second delay when you start it
up, has microdrive and Disciple/Plus D interface disabled, and after 5 minutes of use, will not automatically slow down the emulation, meaning an unusable emulator for people using Pentiums or better; the registered version corrects all this. All in all, a highly recommended emulator, depending on your needs.
Z80 Stealth Z80Stealth is the Spectrum emulator for DOS that also works in Win98. It emulates the Spectrum 128. It's an excelent emulator, and is worth a try.
Z80 Stealth Z80Stealth is the Spectrum emulator for DOS that also works in Win98. It emulates the Spectrum 128. It's an excelent emulator, and is worth a try.
ZEmu ZEmu emulators the Spectrum. All info is in another language, so that's about all I can tell you.
ZX ZX is a Spectrum ZX 48k emulator. This emulator was originally released in Italian, but has since been translated to English. This is an early beta, so there are some bugs.
ZX Plus This is a Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48 and 128K emulator written for Windows 9x that utilizes DirectX. The homepage of this emulator says it might emulate other systems in the future, so keep a lookout on this one.
ZX Spectrum 4 The only ZX Spectrum emulator written in DotNet.
ZX Spin ZXSpin started off as a Sinclair BASIC interpreter but is now a full emulator. It claims decent accuracy and a good amount of features, so give it a try. Since this is a public test, let the author know if you find any problems.
ZX-Emul ZX-Emul is an emulator for Sinclair Spectrum by Lion17. Most of the documentation is in Russian, so not a whole lot is known about it. It emulates the Pentagon 128K, 512K and 1024K memory extensions, emulates VG93 and more.
zx32 An awesome ZX Spectrum emulator, with a bunch of special releases with various features.
ZX82 This is an early stage Spectrum 48K/128K emulator by Tom Walker.
ZXMAK ZXMAK is a newer Spectrum emulator for Windows. Not much is know about it since its homepage isn't it English.
ZXMAK2 ZXMAK2 is a plugin based ZX Spectrum Virtual Machine. On the other side, this is flexible ZX Spectrum emulator.

Each device (include ULA, beeper, tape, etc) represented as device on the bus.

Project written in C#. Currently it works on Windows platform and using Managed DirectX.

Support the following ZX Spectrum clones:
- ZX Spectrum 48 (contended memory)
- ZX Spectrum 128 (contended memory)
- ZX Spectrum +3 (contended memory, but currently without FDD)
- Pentagon 128/512/1024
- SCORPION 256
- ATM 4.50
- ATM 7.10
- PROFI 3.xx
- PROFI 5.xx
- SPRINTER (except spectrum config)
- QUORUM 256
- Leningrad 1
- LEC 48/528
- Other (through custom configuration and plugins, for example LEC mod)
ZXSpectr This is a Sinclair Spectrum emulator that has many options, so definitely download


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